Hope for Mental Health

This class is open to the community!  It's provided by the Polk County Family & Outreach Department free of charge. Did you know that much like CPR or the Heimlich maneuver, the fundamentals of QPR are easily learned?  Did you know that you may be able to save a life?        By learning QPR, you will come to recognize the warnings signs, clues, and suicidal communications of people in trouble, and  gain skills that may prevent a   tragedy . QPR is not a form of counseling or treatment.  It's intended to offer hope, both to you and to someone with suicidal thoughts or plans.  You will learn how to:                           Question...a person about suicide.                         Persuade...someone to get help and,                ...

When a child dies, at any age, the family suffers intense pain and may feel hopeless and alone.  The Compassionate Friends is a nonprofit  national organization that provides comfort, hope and support.   There is a wealth of free resource and educational information on the website.  Local Chapters are to be found in the Portland area, and there is also information on the website about starting your own chapter.  There are also online chat rooms. To access the main website for more information, go to: Compassionate Friends To receive a free customized bereavement packet, go to this page: Request a Bereavement Packet To learn about all the many aspects of grief, (including psychological, emotional, physical, family & social), go this page: For the newly bereaved                          

I consider myself to be pretty emotionally literate - a career in mental health and years of therapy, right? Well, this book made me eager to learn more, and gave me language for feelings that my heart knew but about which my brain was clueless.  What a relief! According to the research shared in this book, most folks can identify 3 emotions - mad, sad, and scared.  Well, get ready to learn about the 87 (!!) shared within the covers. It is encouraging to learn about the huge range of emotions that God gave us, and to have the opportunity to explore them in all our relationships.   My favorite to learn about was "forboding joy"; that reaction to happiness that sends you running for cover.  It's that quick flutter that says 'watch out, the other shoe is about to drop', which can send you (me) imagining the worst.  As a parent, she gives the example of experiencing the joy of watching her sleeping children, and then freaking out about all the bad thi...